


More Precious than Gold

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-31
Updated: 2016-12-31
Packaged: 2018-09-13 15:28:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9130495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: Elizabeth visits Aideen's plaza for an important task, but ends up spending most of the day with her girlfriend.





	

Elizabeth took a deep breath when she stepped off the tram and into the alley of Aideen’s plaza. She had been here many times before, ever since her pilgrimage to the well when she’d first become a druid. Hopping on a bus and then a tram didn’t have the same ring to it as trekking all the way to the Well of Aideen, but these were modern times. Though, Aideen’s plaza looked like it was still stuck in the past. Cobblestones lined the streets instead of pavement or asphalt, and the buildings also looked quite old. It even had the cutest little florist, and an antiques store. Truthfully, Elizabeth loved it here.

Even the alleys smelled nice. The birds had the decency to not decorate the paths and sacred well with their droppings, and even if they did, someone would clean it up. Yvonne would put them to work, that woman loved her cleanliness. Thinking about Yvonne, Elizabeth looked mournfully at another beautiful piece of art that had appeared on the wall of the alley. It wouldn’t last long once Yvonne saw it. Though, the image was a poignant one- the image of a girl crying, with a sun emblazoned behind her.

Elizabeth looked away from the image, feeling frustration rise to the surface. The real leader of the Sun Circle was still trapped, and her colleagues weren’t doing anything about it. So, clenching her fists, Elizabeth continued on her way through the alley. As usual, the sight of the golden statue chased away any negative thoughts. This was a sacred place. Even if she was frustrated with the other druids, she couldn’t feel anything but peaceful here.

Before she knew it, Elizabeth was standing in between two of the horse statues, gazing up at the large gold statue. The light in Aideen’s plaza was always muted by spells so that passersby wouldn’t blind themselves by looking at the statue. As such, Elizabeth could comfortably stare at it while she pondered. What would the goddess think? More importantly, what did the goddess have planned?

“Penny for your thoughts?” asked a voice as sweet as honey, and Elizabeth felt her heavy thoughts lift.

“Oh, I was just… thinking,” said Elizabeth. She turned to smile at the newcomer, her heart fluttering as it always did when she beheld the beautiful visage of Iris. The florist had a smudge of dirt on her left cheek, and her eyes were alight with happiness as they always were.

“You seem tense,” said Iris. “Normally you come to me first if you’re alone. And you can’t be on a mission, because you would’ve drawn the water already.”

“It’s secret druid business,” said Elizabeth. “I’d love to tell you but I can’t. It’s kind of vitally important to our cause.”

“Ah, I see,” said Iris. “Well, perhaps I can distract you instead?” Her cheeks tinged pink as though she were suggesting something lewd, but Elizabeth knew that the adorable florist meant something far more innocent.

“How is the food in the Harp Café?” asked Elizabeth, looking over at it.

“Well, the ice cream isn’t as good as Leonardo’s, but it’s not bad,” said Iris. “I go there sometimes.”

“Let’s go, then,” said Elizabeth. “I don’t know why I came here so early, honestly. The ritual only works at night.”

“And what ritual would that be?” asked Iris. She blushed again. “If I may ask.”

“It’s really not a huge secret,” said Elizabeth. “When the moon is at its fullest and at its highest peak, a druid will find herself able to speak to the goddess Aideen if she only visits the well and says a simple spell. She must also drink of the well water.”

“A lot of people drink the well water,” said Iris. “I use it to water my flowers.”

“Do you also use it as part of your beauty routine?” asked Elizabeth. Iris blushed again and giggled, curling a strand of her hair around her finger.

“So does the water really have magical properties?” asked Iris. “I thought that it was just a legend.”

“Yes, we druids use it in a lot of our mixtures and spells,” said Elizabeth. “It’s really quite remarkable.”

“I must admit that dating a druid is very interesting,” said Iris as they began to make their way over to the café.

“Oh, you sound like Avalon when you say that,” said Elizabeth, laughing. 

“Well, many things are interesting,” said Iris. “But you’re also wonderful and magical and so kind.” Elizabeth blushed, grinning, and found that her earlier heavy thoughts had grown wings and flown away. Now, all she could feel was butterflies in her stomach as Iris slipped a hand into hers. Despite her profession, Iris’ hands were delicate and smooth. Elizabeth wished that her hands were so smooth, but years of druid work had rendered them tough and scarred.

“What do you recommend we order?” asked Elizabeth once they reached the café.

“The ice cream, of course,” said Iris. “There’s nothing better than ice cream for getting rid of one’s worries. And it is a warm day.”

After purchasing their ice cream, the two women walked outside onto the grass and sat down at one of the tables under a large oak tree. Iris removed her hat and let her hair tumble down, combing her fingers through it. Elizabeth noticed that it looked a little frizzy from the slight humidity in the air. But Iris still looked perfect. She wrapped her hairband around her wrist, then pulled her hair into a low ponytail.

“I love your hair,” said Elizabeth, hoping that her girlfriend hadn’t seen her staring.

“I like yours too,” said Iris, smiling at her. “It’s such a pretty colour.” Elizabeth blushed and started on her strawberry ice cream. It was delicious, and she smiled in satisfaction.

“You should probably eat your ice cream before it melts,” said Elizabeth.

While they ate and enjoyed the shade, Elizabeth thought back on how she had met this perfect creature sitting across from her. She’d come to Aideen’s plaza for the same reason many druids did, to fetch some of the magical water for a druid spell. But then she’d spied a florist’s on her way across the plaza, and had gone inside, hoping to find some new beautiful flowers to plant in her little garden.

Not many things could compare to the beauty of the statue of Aideen, but the cute florist who showed Elizabeth her flowers was the most perfect woman Elizabeth had ever had the pleasure of seeing. Iris had chatted to her at length about flowers that day, talking about which ones did best in which climates and which flowers thrived together. Her voice was so beautiful that Elizabeth could listen to her talk for hours. She’d returned to the plaza a few times after that with some excuse to see the beauty. And then, finally, she’d decided to just stop dilly-dallying and had asked Iris out on a date. They’d gone to Leonardo’s ice cream parlour, where they had talked again over the most delicious ice cream in the world.

Elizabeth wasn’t sure if it was the memory of that ice cream that made it so delicious, or if it was just because Leonardo made the best ice cream. Either way, the ice cream at Café Harpan was delicious but not amazing.

“We should go to Leonardo’s again,” said Iris.

“I was just thinking the same thing,” said Elizabeth, grinning. “We could do that now if you wanted, after all we do have a few hours to wait until it’s the right time.”

“Actually, I was thinking that maybe we could see a movie,” said Iris, fidgeting her fingers on the table. “It would get us out of the heat.”

“That’s a wonderful idea,” said Elizabeth, smiling at her girlfriend. 

They went to see a romantic comedy, and then went back in afterwards to watch an indie film that Iris thought looked good. It was about a florist, of course, who fell in love with a handsome gardener but then changed her mind completely when she saw the gardener’s employer. Elizabeth enjoyed it for the sweet storyline of two women falling in love, while Iris cooed over the beautiful flowers. Elizabeth made a mental note to take her girlfriend to a large garden one day.

When night finally fell, Elizabeth waited until the moonlight turned the well’s water into a pool of silver. Then, she performed the spell to speak to Aideen. While this was happening, Iris returned to her home. And, when Elizabeth knocked on Iris’ door early in the morning, looking bleary-eyed yet peaceful, Iris invited her inside and slept beside her girlfriend in her bed.


End file.
